Brand darling, champion and playboy: tennis player Andre Agassi. A difficult period in the career of a great tennis player

Andre Agassi is an outstanding American tennis player known throughout the world.

Andre Kirk Agassi was born on April 29, 1970 in Las Vegas in the family of an Iranian immigrant of Armenian origin - boxer, participant in the 1948 and 1952 Olympic Games Emmanuel "Mike" Agassi. Emmanuel's father, David Agasyan, was born and lived in Kyiv, where he worked as a carpenter before emigrating to Iran.

Mike Agassi was a man deeply passionate about tennis. He even built a small tennis court near his home in Las Vegas for all four of his children. For the birth of his youngest, Andre, Mike even ordered a special toy for the cradle in the form of. He dreamed of his son becoming a tennis player and developed special educational games for him to practice with. Thus, he ensured that the younger Andre, already at the age of four, mastered all the basic strokes and techniques of tennis. The father forced his son to hit two and a half thousand balls a day from a ball-serving machine. Mike invited famous former athletes to meet Andre, including Bobby Riggs, Jimmy Connors, Ilie Nastas, Bjorn Borg, Harold Solomon. For the boy’s participation in junior tennis tournaments, he specially took him to Salt Lake City and Houston, since there were no tournaments for juniors in nearby cities.

When Andre was thirteen years old, he entered Nick Bollettieri's tennis academy. Bollettieri, convinced of the boy's abilities, decided to teach him at the academy for free and personally train him. Through hard work And long workouts Agassi Jr. achieved that at the age of 16 he entered the top 100 strongest tennis players in the world. By the age of 18, Andre Agassi was ranked third in the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) rankings and had two million dollars to his name.

In 1990, Agassi reached the tournament final for the first time in his career. Grand Slam and won as part of the US team in the Davis Cup final.

After successful performances at the French Open, as well as Wimbledon tournament Agassi's career began to decline, which occurred in 1993. Old injuries made themselves felt, and Andre didn’t have the same mood. Nick Ballotieri refused to further cooperate with the tennis player, citing Agassi’s lack of willingness to train as the reason. Agassi developed tendonitis in his right hand and had to undergo surgery, which also required some time for recovery and rest.

But already in 1994, Agassi regained his former form, and with it his glory. He began training under 1988 Olympic medalist Brad Gilbert. Having started the year at 20th place in the ATP rankings, he ended it already in second place.

In 1995, Andre Agassi participated in the Australian Open for the first time in his career, defeating ATP ranking leader Pete Sampras in the final. Having also won victories at tournaments in San Jose and Miami, Agassi became the first racket of the world.

In 1996, Andre Agassi became the champion of the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta.

1997 was marked by a year of great crisis for Agassi. He dropped below 20th position in the rankings, suffered defeat after defeat, and victories became rare for him, like rain in the desert. Agassi finished this year in 110th place in the ranking - he had never occupied such a low position, even at the beginning of his career at the age of sixteen. But this year Agassi married American model and actress Brooke Shields. Their marriage lasted two years.

In 1998, Andre's career began to improve. He did not achieve success at the Grand Slam tournaments, but scored a number of other victories, ending the year in 6th place in the rankings.

1999 was the heyday of Agassi's game. He won all Grand Slam tournaments for the fourth time, becoming the fifth tennis player in history to do so. Together with his victory at the Olympics in 1996, this meant that Agassi became the owner of a career Golden Slam in men's singles- the first in history. That same year, Agassi won the US Open, as well as tournaments in Hong Kong, Washington and Paris, again earning the title of world number one.

In 2000, Andre returned to the US national team camp. However, his results this season were not so impressive. Agassi did not win a single serious tournament, and even reached the finals in only two competitions.

The year 2001 was marked for Agassi with the joy of family life. He married a German tennis player, who gave birth to his son Jayden Gil on October 27, 2001. He also finished the year at third place in the ATP rankings, at age 31 becoming the oldest tennis player since 1984 to be in the top three of the tennis hit parade.

In 2002, Agassi did not continue his contract with Brad Gilbert at the latter's request and began collaborating with Australian Daren Cahill. This year Agassi won his 50th career title at ATP tournaments. In just one season, he earned five titles at once, which no one had ever done in tennis before. He finished the year in second place in the rankings, going down in history as the oldest tennis player in history to achieve this.

In 2003, Andre turned 33 years old and became the first tennis player in history to top the ATP rankings at such an advanced age for tennis. He finished the year in fifth position, again as the oldest tennis player in history. On October 3, 2003, Agassi became a father for the second time - he and Steffi Graf had a daughter, Jazz Eli.

In 2004, Andre reached the semifinals of the Australian Open, won the tournament in Cincinnati and reached tenth place in the ranking.

In 2005, Agassi won his 60th ATP title. He became the oldest Grand Slam finalist at 35 and finished the year in tenth place in the rankings.

On June 25, 2006, Andre Agassi announced the completion sports career. His last game became Open Championship USA. On September 3, 2006, in the third round of the US Open, Agassi lost to Germany's Benjamin Becker in four sets. Andre could not hold back his tears; the spectators saw him off the field standing and applauding.

During his career, Andre Agassi won 60 individual tournaments, won all Grand Slams four times and Olympic Games, becoming the first ever winner of a career Golden Slam, won the Davis Cup three times, was the world number one for a total of 101 weeks, and also became the oldest player to top the ATP rankings.

Andre Agassi is known for his unique style of play - hitting the ball early and playing from the baseline. In addition, he has an original way of gripping the racket with his left hand, which allowed him to strike closed racket. Experts admit that Agassi's game has almost no weaknesses.

But among other things, Agassi was known for his defiant behavior. He allowed himself to mock his opponents, insult the judges, and once even spat in the direction of one of the referees, for which he was punished with a large fine.

In 2009, Andre Agassi released the book “Frankly: An Autobiography,” in which he admitted that he used drugs (particularly methamphetamine) in 1997, and the reason for this was problems in his personal life. After the confession, Agassiz received criticism. Thus, Marat Safin, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Martina Navtratilova made a statement that Agassi should renounce all his sports titles. Agass was supported by Yevgeny Kafelnikov and commentator Bud Collins, who said that taking methamphetamine does not improve athletic performance, but worsens it.

Andre Agassi is among richest athletes peace. However, he spends part of his fortune on charity. Back in the 90s, the tennis player founded the Andre Agassi Educational Foundation, sport Club Andre Agassi Girls and Boys and Andre Agassi College Preparatory Academy. He is also a co-founder of the Athletes for Hope organization, actively fights AIDS, and supports medical research into cancer.

Agassi is also involved in business. The scope of its activities extends to the construction, restaurant, hotel business, real estate trade, as well as sports and night clubs.

In 2011, Andre Agassi was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. laureate of the Garden of Dreams Foundation Award, awarded once a year since 2009 to a person who has been actively helping children from high social risk groups for a long time. In 2012, he was inducted into the US Open Hall of Fame, and his plaque bears the words Bold, brash and bigger than life.

This chapter tells about Andre Agassi's acquaintance with his future (first) wife, actress Brooke Shields. This acquaintance does not take place during the easiest period of his life for Andre. He is still having a hard time breaking up with his first serious love, his girlfriend Wendy, who for a long time accompanied Agassi on trips to tournaments, but then she got tired of this role, and she broke up with Andre on her own initiative. True, soon a very important, striking event occurs in Andre’s career. He wins his first Grand Slam tournament - the famous Wimbledon! His father Mike Agassi is in seventh heaven - his efforts and sacrifices were not in vain, his son lived up to his father’s hopes! Mike even burst into tears after his son's victory, he was so filled with pride. But soon Andre’s major mood changes to minor: having injured his wrist, he is forced to agree to surgery, and the post-operative rehabilitation period is difficult for him. And here another woman appears in his life, as it turns out later, fatal. It was actress Brooke Shields

I settled down on a sea-green couch, thickly stuffed with goose down, with the remote control in one hand and the phone in the other. The surgeon said that I had to keep my wrist elevated for several days, so I had to lie down with it on a high, hard pillow to support it. Although I am being fed powerful painkillers, I still feel unwell, I react painfully to everything, and my mood is worse than ever. Fortunately, I had an outlet in my life, a woman. This is Lindy, a friend of saxophonist Kenny Jay's wife.

I met Kenny Jay through singer Michael Bolton, who I met when I was playing at the Davis Cup. We all lived in the same hotel. So, Lindy called me out of the blue and said that she had met a woman who embodied perfection itself.

That's cool, I appreciate perfection.

I think you can do it.

Where did you get this from?

She is pretty, simply brilliant, there is some kind of mystery and irrepressible gaiety in her.

This is hardly true. I still miss Wendy. And, besides, I prefer when acquaintance occurs naturally, and not through someone’s tip.

Forget about your preferences. After all, her name is Brooke Shields.

I heard about her.

What are you actually losing?

Lots of things.

Andre, come on

I'll think about it. Do you have her number?

You can't call her. She's in South Africa filming a movie.

But she must have a phone.

Nope. She can be anywhere and nowhere: in a tent, in a barracks, in the bush. You can only contact her by fax. She gave me Brooke Shields' fax number and asked for my fax number.

But I don't have a fax. This is the only thing that is not in my house.

I gave her my brother Philly's fax number. Just before the operation he called me.

Did you receive a fax from Brooke Shields?

That's how it all started. Faxes here and there, long-distance correspondence with a woman I had never seen in person. What started out strange became even stranger over time. The rhythm of the dialogue was unusually slow, which suited both of us; neither of us was in much of a hurry. But at the same time, the gigantic distances that separated us quickly reduced our alertness to nothing. After exchanging just a few faxes, we went from innocent flirting to sharing our deepest secrets. Over the course of several days, our faxes acquired the tone of tender messages, and then became more intimate. I felt like I was becoming the lover of a woman I had never met or spoken to.

I stopped calling Barbara (Streisand Andre Agassi at one time had a telephone affair with the famous actress and singer Barbara Streisand, who was much older than the tennis player Ed.)

Now, immobilized, my wrist bandaged, resting on a hard pillow, I could do nothing but think incessantly about the next fax for Brooke Shields. A few days later, my friend Gil (Agassi's bodyguard and physical training coach - Ed.) arrived and helped me work on several projects. I was confused by the fact that Brooke graduated from the prestigious Princeton University, where she majored in French literature, while I dropped out of school in the ninth grade. But Gil did not tolerate such talk and did everything to strengthen my faith in myself.

“And one more thing,” he said, “don’t worry about whether she likes you or not.” Better decide for yourself whether you like her.

“Yes,” I said. Yes. You are right.

So I ask him to rent a selection of Brooke Shields films to watch, and soon we're hosting a two-person film festival. We pop the popcorn, dim the lights, and Gil puts on the first movie, The Blue Lagoon. In the film Brooke, a mermaid close to puberty finds herself washed up with a young man on the shore of a paradise island. In short, a retelling of the story of Adam and Eve. We fast-forward, freeze frame, argue: Brooke Shields is my type or not.

“Not bad,” says Jill. Very pretty. She's definitely worth your next fax.

The courtly courtship by fax continued for several weeks until Brooks sent a short fax saying that she was wrapping up filming and returning to the US in two weeks. She was flying into Los Angeles International Airport. By coincidence, I was scheduled to arrive in Los Angeles the day after she arrived to record an interview with television journalist Jim Rome.

We met at her house. I rushed there straight from the studio, not even taking off my heavy TV makeup from my interview with Jim Rome. She opened the door, looking like a real movie star, with a balloon scarf around her neck. And without makeup. (At least her makeup was much more moderate than mine). But she had short hair, which shocked me. All this time I imagined her with long hair falling over her shoulders.

“I had to cut my hair because of the role,” she explained.

Because of the role? In what movie? Bad News Bears?

Her mom came out of nowhere. We shook hands. She tried to be cordial, but she didn’t do it well; she still remained prim. I had a strange feeling. Purely intuitively, I realized that no matter the situation, we would never get along.

I took Brooke out to dinner. On the way I asked her:

Do you live with your mother?

Yes. In general, no. Actually no. It's a difficult question.

It’s always like this with parents.

We went to an inexpensive Italian restaurant called Pasta Maria on San Vicente Street. I asked to be seated in a corner, away from other visitors, and very quickly forgot about Brooke's mother, her haircut, everything.

We laugh heartily when the waiter comes to our table and, addressing both of us, asks:

So, have both ladies looked at the menu?

“It’s probably time to get a haircut,” I say.

I ask about the film Brooke just filmed in Africa. Does she like being an actress? She talks enthusiastically about the fun process of making a film and how exciting it is to work with talented actors and directors, and it strikes me that she is the complete opposite of Wendy, who never knew what she wanted. But Brooke knows this for sure. She imagines what she dreams about and talks about her dreams without hesitation, without difficulty, although she does not have a clear understanding of how to make them come true. Brooke is 5 years older than me, she knows life and people better, and at the same time, she gives the impression of a feminine, weak and innocent girl, which makes me want to take her under my protection. She awakens in me a need to care about someone, I never knew I had this trait in me.

We talk basically about the same things that were in our faxes, but now, in live communication, over a plate of spaghetti, it sounds different, much more soulful: a certain subtext is felt, body language is more expressive than words on paper, plus a certain chemistry arises between us pheromones are triggered. Plus Brooke makes me laugh and laughs with me. I really like the way she laughs. Just like the wrist surgery, three hours flew by in a flash.

She very sympathetically asked me about the operation, looked at the fresh inch-sized scar and gently stroked it. She was sympathetic to me because she also had to have surgery on both legs. The fact is that her toes were injured. “Because of the dancing,” Brooke says, “so the doctors had to have them realigned.” I told her about my friend Gil, who was on duty in my room as a nurse, and she jokingly asked if I could lend her him for a while.

It turned out that despite our completely different lifestyles, we have similar starting positions. She knows what it means to grow up under the pressure of an unbalanced, ambitious, tough parent. It was the same with me and my daddy. Her mom practically took over the role of her manager when she was just 11 months old. The difference with me is that her mother still controls her. And now their relationship is very strained, because Brooke's career is declining. Filming the film in Africa was her first serious work in recent years. In Europe, she has a small business related to the sale of coffee, the income from which is just enough to pay the mortgage loan. She speaks about this easily, very sincerely, as if we have known each other since the cradle. It's not just because we prepared the ground by exchanging faxes. I can say that she is an open person by nature, that’s how she is in general. I wish I could be half as open as she is. I can't really tell her about my inner doubts, although I have to admit that I hate tennis.

She is laughing.

You don't actually hate tennis at all.

No, I hate it.

But you are quite happy with this hatred.

I assure you that I hate him.

We talk about our travels, our favorite foods, music and movies.

We become closer together as we discuss the recent film Shadow World, which tells the story of English writer C.S. Lewis. I tell Brooke that this movie struck a chord in me. Lewis was closely related to his brother. The film tells about Lewis's secretive life in isolation from the rest of the world, about the dangerous inevitability of risk and the torment of love. But some amazingly fearless woman forces him to understand that suffering is the price to pay for being human, and it is worth paying for it. At the end of the film, Lewis tells his students:

Suffering is the voice of God addressed to the soulless world in order to awaken it. He tells them:

You are like blocks of stone It is the blows of His chisel, which cause us such pain, that make us perfect.

Perry and I watched this movie twice, I tell Brooke, we memorized almost half of the movie's dialogue. It touches me that Brooke also likes Shadow World. I have a grudging respect for the fact that she has read several of Lewis's books. Long after midnight, sitting over empty cups of coffee, we can no longer ignore the impatience with which the waiters and the owner of the restaurant are looking at us. I have to leave. I'm driving Brooke home and, standing on the sidewalk outside her house, I think I see her mother looking at us through the curtains on the top floor. I kiss Brooke on the cheek and ask if I can call her. Call her, please.

As I leave, she notices a small hole in my jeans, just below the back. She sticks her finger in there and tickles my tailbone with her nail. A mischievous smile plays on her lips before she runs into the house.

I'm driving my rental car along Sunset Boulevard. I had planned to return to Vegas, not expecting the date to be so exciting or last so long, but it was too late to try to fly away. I decide to stay at the first hotel I come across. It turned out to be Holliday Inn, which knew better days. Ten minutes later, I'm lying in my shabby third-floor room, listening to the sounds of traffic on Sunset Boulevard and the 405. I'm going over all the details of the date and, most importantly, trying to come to some conclusion about what it means something to me. But my eyelids grow heavy and close. I struggle to keep my eyes open, as I usually struggle to maintain self-control, the loss of which is like losing the right to choose.

Details at www.tennisweekend.ru

important victories

Early years, childhood and the beginning of the biography of Andre Agassi

After moving to the USA, the father of our today's hero made a successful career as a boxer, however, despite this, he always cherished a special love for tennis in his soul. It's all about what's still in childhood Emmanuel often watched American and British soldiers play tennis in the courtyard of the Christian mission.

Subsequently, noticing a local boy at the fence, one of the military gave the guy his first tennis racket. Many years have passed since then. Emmanuel moved from Iran to the United States, where he started a family and also built a small clay tennis court near his home. Despite the fact that Emmanuel made a successful career in boxing, he always taught his four children only to play tennis. Playing with the guys, the famous Iranian-American athlete hoped that each of them would make a successful career on the tennis courts in the future. However, only one of Emmanuel’s children, his youngest son Andre, became famous in the world of tennis.

In early childhood, the future tennis player spent a huge amount of time on the court. Together with his father, he often went to various junior tournaments, where already at the age of ten he achieved quite significant results. In particular, in 1980, Andre Agassi became a finalist at the US Championship in his age group. A year later I reached the semi-final stage.

In order to help him make a successful career in the world of sports, Emmanuel sent his son to the tennis academy of Nick Bollettieri, who was a longtime friend of the boxer. To continue his career, Andre had to move to Florida, but, as it turned out, it was worth it. Over several years of studying at a prestigious tennis academy, our today’s hero greatly improved his professional skills, and therefore, at the age of fourteen, he managed to win his first US champion title in his age group.

Tennis career of Andre Agassi

Subsequently, our today's hero managed to take revenge on the eminent Swede more than once. Led by his coach Nick Bollettieri, Agassi grew and progressed rapidly. That’s why at one point he became a real star on the tennis courts.

1990 - Nike - Andre Agassi, Red Hot Chili Peppers

Throughout his career, the talented American tennis player remained one of the best representatives in his sport. Over many years of performances, he managed to win more than sixty different tournaments, achieving the highest results in both singles and doubles. His career included eight Grand Slam tournaments, as well as a huge number of other trophies. In addition, Andre Agassi became the first of two tennis players (along with Rafael Nadal) to win not only all four major tennis trophies, but also gold medal Olympic Games.

In the nineties and early 2000s, our today's hero was a true legend in the world tennis. As a member of the US national team, Andre Agassi won the Davis Cup twice. For his outstanding achievements in 2011, the athlete was included in the International Tennis Hall of Fame. Thus, the son of an Iranian emigrant became a US national hero, as well as a role model for many tennis fans.

Andre Agassi vs ball girl

In 2003, Andre Agassi became the oldest tennis player to top the WTA rankings. In total, during his career, the talented athlete spent 101 weeks as the first racket of the world. In addition, for 16 seasons, our today's hero was among the ten strongest players on the planet. This indicator became the basis for Andre’s inclusion in the Guinness Book of Records.

Career outside sports, Andre Agassi outside sports

tennis court

In the late 2000s, the name Andre Agassi appeared in seventh place in the ranking of the most financially successful athletes of our time. During his career, he earned, according to various estimates, from 200 to 500 million dollars. A significant portion of these funds came from advertising contracts with such brands as American Express, Adidas, Nike and some others. In addition, Andre received a substantial amount of money for the rights to publish his own biography.

Currently, Andre Agassi is a co-owner of a commercial empire, which includes a network of sports and night clubs, as well as companies involved in the restaurant, construction, real estate and restaurant business.

Besides everything else, Andre Agassi is known as a philanthropist.

Personal life of Andre Agassi

However, the longest and happiest relationship was between Andre Agassi and German tennis player Steffi Graf. Their romance began at the end of 1999, and subsequently developed into a long and strong marriage. The couple currently live in Las Vegas, where they are raising two children together.

The name of tennis player Andre Agassi and Hollywood star Brooke Shields is now on the lips of millions of not only Americans, but also residents of other countries. Until recently they were called a sweet couple, but now the athlete and the actress have separated like ships at sea. However, many predicted such an end to their romance.

Andre had a lot of girlfriends in his youth, because he was born not just anywhere, but in Las Vegas, the famous center of recreation and entertainment. They say that Armenian blood flows in his veins. Be that as it may, the guy was already at school staring at long-legged beauties who were older than him.

Andre first appreciated the delights of kisses at the age of twelve. And a neighbor named Wendy taught him how to kiss. The Agassi and Stewart families lived next door in one of the most prestigious areas of Las Vegas. Andre and Wendy went to the tennis section, and one day after practice, when the coach was away on business, Wendy kissed Andre in a friendly way, as if in gratitude for the game. This was not enough for the emotional boy, and he came up with a cunning plan. He invited his girlfriend to the cinema, took tickets in the last row, and towards the end of the film, Wendy, looking in the mirror, could hardly recognize her lips - they were so red and increased in volume after Andre’s “hickeys”.

One of the neighbors “told” Agassi’s father about what his son was doing with his neighbor at the cinema, and he became furious. He got so angry that he sent his son out of sight. Thus, the future first racket of the world ended up in Florida, at the famous tennis academy of Nick Bollettieri. But the romance did not end. Wendy wrote love letters to her lover, and Andre called her on the phone. And again there was an “information leak” - someone secretly told Agassi Sr. about the connection with Stewart. He, without hesitation, launched a “duck” himself, saying that his son had a girlfriend at the academy. Wendy could not stand the betrayal and went to live with relatives in California.

Even at the academy, Andre was not bored. Here he met the brunette Emmy Moss, who was soon expelled due to poor academic performance. The guy knew how to combine sports with love affairs, but his father did not share his views on this matter. The last one almost got sick when his son showed up home not alone, but with a girlfriend and an earring in his ear. Father Michael almost fainted when, instead of his modest son, he saw an overgrown guy in multi-colored clothes. Emmy Moss seemed so vulgar to Andre's parents that they decided to “return” neighbor Wendy to their son.

Wendy tried to re-educate the future tennis star. And she turned out to be a more decent girl than Emmy, who “split” the tennis player for 300 thousand dollars in two years. Wendy refused expensive gifts, tried to save the guy from bad habits, because he couldn’t go a day without having a couple of beers or a quick bite at a diner after training.

Andre began to change women like rackets. Everything went wrong with Wendy after he watched the film “The Prince of Tides” starring Barbra Streisand. He called the actress and they chatted on the phone for more than two hours. After that, 50-year-old Barbbra fell in love with the tennis player when she saw him at the US Open. Andre was also interested in “getting to know” a woman of “Balzac’s” age. He believed that youth is good, but experience is better.

One novel gave way to another. One day Andre received an injury on the court and went to Los Angeles to heal it. There, at one of the parties at Richard Gere's house, he was introduced to the American sex symbol Brooke Shields. The actress invited the guy to her villa. Andre liked that her grandfather Francis played great tennis in the thirties and even won several tournaments, but then abandoned the racket for business. The rich have their own quirks.

Andre even invited the girl to play for the score and promised that he would give a thousand dollars if she took at least one point from him. And he lost! The couple spent the prize money in a restaurant. Soon Andre was healed, and he and Brooke broke up. Andre traveled around tournaments, but still found time to meet with a pretty blonde. Fortunately, there was always... an airplane at hand. And with him, no distances are scary. More than once Andre flew to his girlfriend to be alone.

Andre had problems not only on the court, but also on the love front. It so happened that the star of the television series “Beverly Hills 90210” Shanon Docherty fell in love with him. By this time, the actress had changed three husbands, and she was arrested by the police several times for rowdy behavior. Taking advantage of the fact that Brookie was filming in the States, Shannon seduced Andre during the Wimbledon tournament. Later, Andre confessed this love story to Shidles, apologized for flirting and, as compensation, gave her one of his many Ferraris.

Brookie did not remain in debt and before the US Open five years ago she secretly told the tennis player that if he won it, she would give him the most precious thing she had - her virginity. Andre was so intrigued by this that he played like a lion and won the Grand Slam tournament.

For many years, reporters called Shields the last virgin of Hollywood. Even as a child, Brooke's mother - a zealous Catholic - forced her daughter to give her word - to preserve her virginity until the wedding altar. And for a long time she succeeded in this, despite dating such sex giants as Prince Albert, Jack Nicholson, Michael Jackson. In a word, she managed to “hold out” until she was 29 years old!

The actress had to keep her word, and she gave herself to Andre in the luxurious apartments of the New York Plaza Hotel, in the presidential suite. As usually happens, after achieving his next “goal,” the tennis player lost interest in the actress so much that he began to put off going to the wedding altar with all his might. But Shidles still brought the matter to its logical conclusion, and two years ago the wedding took place in Carmel, California. There were 500 guests - one more famous than the other. All the cream of Broadway and Hollywood gathered. $2 million worth of food and drink was consumed! The newlyweds' honeymoon did not go well. Already on the third day they quarreled. One quarrel followed another, and the spouses saw each other extremely rarely. In less than two years, they met no more than a hundred days.

Journalists added fuel to the fire. Reporters from the weekly Star released a sensation that Brooke had captivated America with a fairy tale about her innocence and lost it at... 13 years old! The breakup was also inevitable because the actress admitted that she had to get Andre drunk during their wedding night. On the morning of his hangover, he did not even notice what blood stains on the sheet the “virgin” showed him.

Quarrels in the family could not but affect the tennis player’s play. Due to scandals, he managed to slide from first place in the world rankings to 141st place. Within a year, he lost $50 million worth of advertising contracts. Andre tried his best to get past the ratings “chasm.” He trained from morning to evening and crawled home exhausted. Of course, in such a situation there is no time to fulfill family responsibilities. Brookie began to insult him, saying, “I don’t need an impotent millionaire,” and began having affairs on the side.

It got to the point that his wife’s lovers began to appear in Agassi’s house at any time. Looking like an actor, David Strickland “worked” for a long time, whom Andre considered his best friend. But soon the sidekick was exposed by the tennis player himself. Andre and his bodyguards beat his lover and forced his wife to write a letter to Strickland about their final breakup. After this, the actor hanged himself in his hotel room. At his funeral, Andre made a scandal for Brooke, and she filed for divorce.

Under the terms of the marriage contract, Andre will have to pay his ex-wife half of his property - $50 million! In other words, every day he lives in marriage will cost him about 70 thousand bucks.

The material was prepared with the help of 2KOM.

On April 29, the great American tennis player, former world number one, eight-time Grand Slam winner, turns 44 years old. Olympic champion Andre Agassi.

Agassi played over 1,000 matches in his career and looked great in most of them. It was not easy to choose the ten best, but we did our best and arranged them in chronological order.

WIMBLEDON 1992. SEMI-FINAL. AGASSI - John McENROE (USA) - 6:4, 6:2, 6:3

Agassi did not immediately fall in love with Wimbledon. After losing precipitously to Henri Lecomte in his first match in 1987, he declared that he would not return, and indeed did not return to the All England Lawn Tennis Club until 1991. But one day, having reached the quarterfinals there, he realized that grass cover not so terrible, and began to prepare seriously. In 1992 he arrived at the most prestigious tennis tournament in the world with the intention of winning.

In the semi-finals, his opponent was the great compatriot John McEnroe, who was approaching the end of his career. It was with him that Agassi had performed in tandem a few weeks earlier. Roland Garros and I trained with him for two weeks and personally gave advice on how to neutralize him.

Andre played the semi-final very cleanly. His shots from the baseline, especially his forehand, and his signature serve were simply superb. He celebrated the victory with a score of 6:4, 6:2, 6:3 in 1 hour 51 minutes.

AUSTRALIAN OPEN-1995. THE FINAL. AGASSI - SAMPRAS (USA) - 4:6, 6:1, 7:6 (8:6), 6:4

If you ask seasoned tennis fans for advice on which matches Agassi should watch first, they will answer you: the finals against Sampras. And they will be right. The rivalry between two compatriots and peers was special and truly adorned the tennis of that era.

This match stands apart in the list of fights between Agassi and Sampras. Andre took care of himself and did not travel to Australia for a long time, and as soon as he set off to conquer the Green Continent, he immediately reached the final, where he met... Of course, Sampras, who was defending the champion title. As always, the tennis players gave a super match. And Agassi, having given up the first set, came back and celebrated the victory - 4:6, 6:1, 7:6 (8:6), 6:4.

US OPEN-1995. THE FINAL. AGASSI - SAMPRAS - 4:6, 3:6, 6:4, 5:7

Having beaten Sapras in Australia, Agassi took the lead in the world rankings from his compatriot opponent and throughout the season they fought with each other for the title of first racket of the world. But in the US Open final, Pete interrupted Andre's summer super series, which included 26 victories in a row and four tournaments won - 6:4, 6:3, 4:6, 7:5.

ROLAND GARROS-1999. AGASSI - MEDVEDEV (UKRAINE) - 1:6, 2:6, 6:4, 6:3, 6:4

In 1997, due to injuries and personal problems, Agassi fell outside the Top 100. It seemed that he best years already behind. But he put the skeptics to shame by not just returning to his previous positions, but by showing top scores in your career. From 1999 to 2003, Andre won five of his eight Grand Slam titles, the first of which was at Roland Garros in the summer of 1999.

In the first two sets of the match with Ukrainian Andrei Medvedev, the American took only three games, and it was difficult to believe that this match could be returned, but Agassi managed an amazing comeback - 1:6, 2:6, 6:4, 6:3, 6: 4.

This victory was special for the tennis player from Nevada: by winning the French Open, he became the fifth tennis player in history and the first in the Open era to complete a career Grand Slam.

US Open-99. THE FINAL. AGASSI - Todd MARTIN (USA) - 6:4, 6:7 (5:7), 6:7 (2:7), 6:3, 6:2

That same season, Agassi played in two more Grand Slam finals. At Wimbledon he lost to Sampras, and at the US Open he met with another compatriot, Todd Martin. The two Americans delighted their home audience with their amazing performance. Agassi did not give up a single game on his serve, but nevertheless lost two games in tiebreaks and it took all five sets to determine the winner. What happened in the US Open men's final for the first time in 11 years.

US OPEN-2001. QUARTER-FINAL. SAMPRAS - AGASSI - 6:7 (7:9), 7:6 (7:2), 7:6 (7:2), 7:6 (7:5)

Agassi and Sampras gave super fights not only in the finals. Yes, the title was not a step or two away, but this match is rightfully called one of the best in the history of tennis. For four sets, none of the opponents returned their serve. Before the fourth tiebreaker, the packed Arthur Ashe Arena crowd rose to its feet and gave the two American superstars a standing ovation. Sampras eventually celebrated the victory - 6:7, 7:6, 7:6, 7:6.

AUSTRALIAN OPEN-2003. THE FINAL. AGASSI - Rainer SCHUTTLER (GERMANY) - 6:2, 6:2, 6:1

Even at 33, Agassi looked brilliant on the court. Yes, the fight in that final didn’t work out at all, but only because Andre looked brilliant. He literally strangled and destroyed his opponent. 67 minutes and only 23 games!

“Having firmly taken his opponent by the throat, Agassi did not let go of his iron grip until the last point, leaving the poor German not a single chance,” wrote “SE” in January 2003.

TENNIS MASTERS CUP-2003. GROUP TOURNAMENT. AGASSI - Roger FEDERER (SWITZERLAND) - 7:6 (7:3), 3:6, 6:7 (7:9)

It was an outstanding game from both the mature Agassi and the rising star Federer, tennis of an outstanding level. Andre's match points remained unconverted, and he allowed Federer to take the first victory in their confrontation. After this, he never beat the Swiss again.

AUSTRALIAN OPEN-2004. SEMI-FINAL. Marat SAFIN (RUSSIA) - AGASSI

- 7:6 (8:6), 7:6 (8:6), 5:7, 1:6, 6:3

It was an amazing match - intense, full of beautiful wrestling and drama. A combination of power and combination play. Agassi almost broke his opponent's resistance, but the Russian, who served well, still did not give up. The American lost, but it is unlikely that his fans would dare to blame him for this.

US Open-2005. QUARTER-FINAL. AGASSI - James BLAKE (USA) - 3:6, 3:6, 6:3, 6:3, 7:6 (8:6)

And again, two Americans at the US Open organized a super game to the delight of the numerous spectators who created an amazing atmosphere in the stadium. The exchange of powerful blows from the baseline lasted for five sets, and Agassi managed a phenomenal comeback from 0:2 in sets. The American was two points away from defeat, but managed to get out - 3:6, 3:6, 6:3, 6:3, 7:6 (8:6).